Apple Software and Technology Forum

Microsoft may want to rethink its hesitation about bringing its Office applications to the iPad.

On Tuesday, Apple made its own rival suite of productivity apps, iWork, free to anyone who buys new Mac computers and the company’s mobile devices, including iPads. IWork has been around for years, but it hasn’t inflicted much apparent damage on Office, one of the most resilient products at Microsoft.

But without the $9.99 fee that Apple charges for each of the three iWork applications — Pages, a word processor; Numbers, a spreadsheet app; and Keynote, a presentation app — that could change. The apps are free to people who buy new hardware from Apple, but not to the huge numbers of people who already own Apple devices. People who already have iWork can upgrade their apps free, too. (Technically, people who bought iOS 7 devices Sept. 1 or later, or a Mac on Oct. 1 or later, will also qualify.) Apple Says iWork Office Apps Are Free With New Hardware [bits.blogs.nytimes.com]